India-UK CETA Now in Force: Zero-Duty Access for Rice, Spice, Fruit Exporters

On 15 July 2026, the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) formally entered into force after both governments completed their ratification procedures. According to the Press Information Bureau (PIB), the agreement delivers zero-duty access on roughly 99% of India's tariff lines to the UK, covering nearly the entire value of India-UK trade. On the very first day of implementation, more than 50 consignments worth over $140 million were reportedly dispatched from India to the UK, and the two governments have set a target of taking bilateral trade from its current $56 billion base to $112 billion by 2030.

For manufacturers, merchant exporters and importers working with Indian agri-commodities, this is not a background policy story. It is a live change to landed cost economics on one of the world's most established food-import markets.

What Actually Changed for Agri-Exporters

When the CETA text was finalised, the product list included duty elimination for basmati rice, cotton, fresh fruits and vegetables (including onions and groundnuts), spices, tea and coffee, and a range of processed foods and marine products. Separate reporting following the July 2026 entry into force confirms that processed foods, cereals, fruits, vegetables, spices, and fish and meat products moved from tariffs that had previously run into double digits down to zero, and that marine products, which had faced duties of up to 21.5%, are now also duty-free. On the other side of the ledger, India kept protections in place for a defined list of sensitive imports from the UK, including dairy, edible oils, oilseeds and apples, so this is a one-directional export opportunity for Indian suppliers rather than an open door in both directions.

Why Many Eligible Shipments Still Won't Get the Benefit

A tariff line becoming duty-free on paper does not automatically mean every shipment clears UK customs at zero duty. Preferential tariff treatment under an FTA is claimed, not applied by default — it depends on the exporter (or their UK-based buyer) presenting a valid certificate of origin that meets CETA's rules of origin, and on the goods being classified under the correct HS code that the agreement actually covers. Buyers who have never imported from India before, or logistics partners unfamiliar with the new agreement, can easily continue paying the old most-favoured-nation duty rate simply because nobody on either side filed the right paperwork. This is the same pattern seen in the early months of most new FTAs: the rate exists, but the compliance step that unlocks it lags behind.

What Exporters and Importers Should Check Now

Before quoting a UK buyer on the assumption that CETA pricing applies, it is worth confirming three things: whether the specific HS code for the product is on the agreed tariff schedule, whether the shipment can be issued a compliant certificate of origin, and whether the UK-side importer's customs broker is actually set up to claim the preference at the port of entry. None of this is difficult, but it is a documentation step that has to be added deliberately — it will not happen on its own just because the agreement is in force.

Business Takeaway

For Indian suppliers of Basmati Rice, spices such as turmeric and fresh onions — all categories explicitly covered under the India-UK CETA — this is a genuine opening to quote UK buyers more competitively than exporters shipping from countries without a UK trade agreement. The opportunity, however, sits with exporters and buyers who actually use the rules of origin correctly, not with those who assume the duty relief is automatic. If you are sourcing any of these categories from India for the UK market, it is worth asking your supplier directly whether they are issuing CETA-compliant certificates of origin on every shipment, rather than assuming the agreement is doing the work for you.